Amanda Staveley and Jamie Reuben have spoken out in the last few moments following the devastating news that the Saudi-backed bid to buy Newcastle United has officially collapsed.
Here’s what Staveley, who fronted the consortium who had a £300m bid accepted by Mike Ashley several months ago, told talkSPORT’s Jim White following the withdrawal:
”I’m absolutely heartbroken for the club, the fans and the community.”
White claims that Staveley insisted she will ‘not give up’ on her pursuit of the club, however it feels like that ship has already sailed now this is the second failed bid she’s been behind.
Jamie Reuben has also released his own message to Newcastle fans on social media since the news broke.
Here’s what Reuben, who was set to be a board member if the deal went through, has had to say:
‘We feel great compassion for the Newcastle United fans with whom we shared a great commitment to help Newcastle United harness its tremendous potential and build upon its impressive and historic legacy while working closely with the local community
‘We would like to say that we truly appreciated your incredible expressions of support and your patience throughout this process. We are sorry it is not to be.’
Here is the full statement that has also been issued from the consortium since the devastating news broke:
With a deep appreciation for the Newcastle community and the significance of its football club, we have come to the decision to withdraw our interest in acquiring Newcastle United Football Club. We do so with regret, as we were excited and fully committed to invest in the great city of Newcastle and believe we could have returned the Club to the position of its history, tradition and fans’ merit.
Unfortunately, the prolonged process under the current circumstances coupled with global uncertainty has rendered the potential investment no longer commercially viable. To that end, we feel a responsibility to the fans to explain the lack of alternatives from an investment perspective.
As an autonomous and purely commercial investor, our focus was on building long-term value for the Club, its fans and the community as we remained committed to collaboration, practicality and proactivity through a difficult period of global uncertainty and significant challenges for the fans and the Club.
Ultimately, during the unforeseeably prolonged process, the commercial agreement between the Investment Group and the Club’s owners expired and our investment thesis could not be sustained, particularly with no clarity as to the circumstances under which the next season will start and the new norms that will arise for matches, training and other activities.
As often occurs with proposed investments in uncertain periods, time itself became an enemy of the transaction, particularly during this difficult phase marked by the many real challenges facing us all from Covid-19
We feel great compassion for the Newcastle United fans with whom we shared a great commitment to help Newcastle United harness its tremendous potential and build upon its impressive and historic legacy while working closely with the local community.
We would like to say that we truly appreciated your incredible expressions of support and your patience throughout this process. We are sorry it is not to be.
We wish the team and everyone associated with it much good luck and success.
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